Archives: 2009 May

To most families, their home is an integral part of their lives.No only the day to day living in it, but also family times goes on there as well as those leisure times.

Well, when you do find it is time to start some work on your house, such as painting, this can be a stressful time and a disruptive time in their lives.

With that being the case, I would like to offer some advice on choosing the right painting contractor.  This advice comes from years working with homeowners and also running a San Diego painting company myself.

Now at first, picking the right painting contractor doesn’t see like it should be difficult.  But if you consider the fact that this project will cost thousands of dollars, cause an interruption in the normal day to day life in the home, and of course can result in a beautiful job you can be proud of to one that you are embarrassed to show.  This is a very important decision.

So here are some tips from my experience as a painter San Diego.

First thing, you do want to start getting quotes from several different contractors.You aren’t just trying for the best price.You are doing this so you will be able to get to know the company that you will be working with.  Of course getting a good price is not bad also, but don’t let that be the primary objective.Remember, you want the work to be done well.

Second, find out what type of warranty or guarantees they will give you on the work they do.See if they have a solid guarantee regarding your satisfaction.  This shows how confident they are in their work.

Thirdly, you will want to know when and how soon can they start.Also, you want to get a good feel on when they think they can get it done and how quickly.When you have to cause a disruption to your life, like having to paint your house.  You will want to know
how quickly they can get things back to normal.

Finally, make sure you get some referrals of previous clients.Make contact with them and see what their opinion of the company is.Sell how well the job was completed, if they finished on time, and if it is a good company to work with.

Do these things and you will create as stress free an experience as possible during this stressful time.  Take it from my years of working with painters in San Diego, doing these few steps will help you greatly.

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In this current time period of digital cameras, you probably think all you need to do is point and click to take great photos.Hold on, don’t go so fast.The honest truth is, you may have a great digital camera, but if you are clueless in what to do, you will take ugly shots.

Well, I’d love to share with you some great advice in photography to help improve your skills.  These tips are coming from years of experience as a San Diego wedding photographer.These tips are about using lighting and they will be some of the best advice and keys to your success in taking great photos.

First tip you will use in regards to lighting.Now if the shots you are taking are outdoors during the day, some of the best lighting possible will be the natural sunlight.  Now you are probably thinking, “that’s easy, when you are a San Diego photographer since it is always shiny there”, when in actuality really bright sunlight can cast harsh shadows.Or it could blur the details of faces when the sun is overhead.

Overall, most of the shots you are going to want to take with the sun behind you.This eliminates any harsh shawows from effecting your shot from the sun.There will be some times when you want to take shots from different angles when you do try to get some shadows into the shots.

Now that we know what to do during the day shots, what if you have to take some night shots? 

The key technique for night photos is actually turning off your flash.Now if it is pictch black, of course you will need it, but if there are some lighting, use it, but make sure the shutter speeds are slower to let the light in.  Also you want to stay steady when taking the shot or you will blur the photos.  Doing these couple of tricks can make a dramatic difference when taking night shots. 

The final piece of advice to use for lighting is using the golden hour to capture great shots.Now there is a time that photographers refer to as the “golden hour” or “magic hour”, and that is during sunrise and sunset.

During these times of the day you will capture great shots that allow you to capture more warmer and inviting colors.  You will be able to capture that golden lighting you won’t catch any other time of day.

There you go.Probably the biggest tip in taking beautiful photos is to make use of the natural lighting around you.  Knowing what techniques to use for different parts of the day, or just scheduling a photo shoots to capture those times of day will help you become an excellent photographer.

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It has often been said that that the majority of things scientists and inventors do with their time is a complete waste. And a lot of the time, I agree with that sentiment. However what two guys named Bompas and Parr, makers of mad jelly sculptures and other “food architecture”, have come up with is worthy of an award. The pair of Eton-schooled eccentric Englishment have come up with what they call a ‘breathable cocktail’ and set it up in the middle of central London. The concept is quite simple – you can stroll around the room inhaling alcoholic vapours which get absorbed into your bloodstream and gradually make you drunk. Not to mention the fact that because the alcohol is being absorbed directly into your blood via your lungs the effect can be a lot more intoxicating than plain old drinking.

The device works by hooking up an industrial humidifier to a healthy supply of Hendrick’s Gin and tonic water. A humidifier is generally something you see (or don’t see) in industrial settings like printing presses or tobacco plants, where lack of humidity can cause problems. Ordinarily, of course, the idea is to connect them to something a lot less potent! Bompas & Parr wanted to experiment with the idea of creating a Gin & Tonic sauna bar that you could simply walk around in and get more and more intoxicated off the fumes.

The company that provided the humidifier, JS Humidifiers, are specialists in air conditioners, heaters and the like, and would normally be the place to go for a ceiling fan or a portable air conditioner this summer. After these exploits, though, I wouldn’t be surprised if they start selling out of humidifiers this summer…!  And I wonder too how long it is before some trendy wine bar picks up on this novel idea and sets up a ‘walk in cocktail’ room on a permanent basis? Perhaps it could even mean that your local pub will get rid of its stools and hand out protective suits at the door. If I was you I wouldn’t hold my breath – in fact just inhale deeply!

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